Cross My Heart
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: When Sofia gets bad news, Cedric makes her a promise. (My first story under "Hurt/Comfort." I'm not sure HOW to feel about that! lol Okay, this is my last story for the night. Now I'll finally get some sleep. Haha, enjoy! AquaTurquoise)


Cross My Heart

Summary: When Sofia gets bad news, Cedric makes her a promise.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First or any characters mentioned in this story.

A/N: This one is going to be both a bit sad and happy, so I apologize in advance for any super emotional moments. Haha.

Sofia sighed as she trudged down the hallway, blindly moving wherever her feet took her. She just couldn't believe what she'd heard…or rather, what her mother had told her. Then again, she supposed things happened for a reason, as the saying goes, but it still didn't make the occurrence any easier.

Granted, she hadn't really had enough time to come to terms with the news… In many ways, what had happened—in her opinion, at least—just wasn't fair. Life was _so_ unfair sometimes, and this was another example of it.

The princess took in a short breath and immediately regretted it. Unshed tears threatened to spill over as she grasped the wall for balance. She hadn't cried in a long time (as far as she remembered, of course), and news like this really brought up quite a few feelings of uncertainty and helplessness. She didn't want to feel like that again. It was bad enough having her life shifted from the accustomed to the new, even if it had turned out for the better. Something like this may very well break her all over again.

Step. Step. Step. Pause… She looked up and noticed the very familiar door in front of her. She lifted her hand to knock but bit her lip and lowered her head, along with her hand, and just slid to the stone floor in a heap, the tears spilling down her cheeks and a shuttering sob wracking her body.

Cedric paused in his work upon hearing such a strange sound. He glanced toward Wormwood curiously, but he saw that the raven looked every bit as confused as he was. He walked toward the door and opened it, looking around to see if someone had appeared. Then his eyes trailed down to the young girl he'd come to call his friend—his friend who, it seemed, was in a rather fragile state at the moment.

He knelt down beside the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder, surprising her as she lifted her tear-stained face to see him. "Sofia?" he asked in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Mr. Cedric… I…" She sniffed and moved forward, wrapping her arms around his neck as she sobbed into his shoulder.

Not sure what to do in this situation, considering it happened infrequently enough, he just let her cry. He leaned against the door frame and allowed the young girl to hold him tighter, clinging evidently to some form of reality. His arms carefully held her steady as he gently rubbed circles on her back (a soothing motion his mother used to do for him as a child), his mind fearing that one wrong move may shatter her state even further.

After a few minutes, Sofia calmed down enough to wipe her tears and look at her mentor sadly. "I'm sorry," she apologized softly. "I know you're probably wondering what's going on…"

"A little bit," he said somewhat sarcastically but still gently enough so as not to upset her any further, which would be the _last_ thing he would need.

"I talked to my mom earlier, and she told me some bad news." She looked down at her hands. "Mr. Henry passed away…"

Cedric blinked and nodded solemnly. Henry was the retired blacksmith they'd met not even a few weeks ago when she'd wanted to visit her village and pass out gifts. The old man wasn't necessarily the happiest or friendliest person in the world, but he did seem more receptive toward Sofia once he spent some time with her. Then again, he supposed that was the magic that surrounded the young girl and probably would the rest of her life.

"What happened?" he asked as she grasped his right hand and held it, supposedly for comfort.

"Mom just said that it was his time… He wasn't well when we saw him, and he got worse after Wassailia. I guess he hid it from everyone…" She sighed and lowered her head again, closing her eyes.

"Sofia," Cedric started quietly as he squeezed her hands comfortingly, making her glance at him again. "I'm not very good at this sort of thing, but I'll give it a go—but only for you." He saw her smile lightly and returned it. "I don't know why things like this happen, but I do know everyone has a time when he or she must leave this world. But…we mustn't dwell on the sadness. Be happy for the life he lived, and that you got to meet him and brighten his day with the gift you gave him."

"But Mr. Cedric—" She paused and blinked when he put his other hand to her mouth, shushing her.

"Just listen." He lowered his hand as she nodded. "You know as well as I how hard it is to lose someone." Seeing her nod again, though a little more slowly, he continued, "But they're never really gone, are they?"

She shook her head. "I know. They live in our hearts."

"Or as ghosts," he concluded with a small smirk, making the girl giggle. It was a weird sense of humor he'd decided to add at the last minute, but he knew she'd probably appreciate it, especially the irony with actually having _literal_ ghosts around every now and then. "You know what you could do?"

"Hmm?"

"Write him a letter," Cedric informed her as she released his hand and let him sit up straighter.

"But…how is he supposed to read it, Mr. Cedric?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"Oh, Sofia, he'll hear and see every word, but the _message_ is the important thing. Sometimes the best thing to do is get out your feelings, even if you don't think it helps. It does—trust me."

She sighed. "I guess so… You're pretty good at this, Mr. Cedric. I honestly never thought you'd be able to help me with this, though… That's why I wasn't going to bother you, and you just happened to find me here."

Cedric raised an eyebrow at her admission. "Sofia, this isn't a bother. This is a genuine problem that I would have been more than glad to help you with…but don't tell anyone." He rolled his eyes. "The last thing I need is Baileywick sobbing about his troubles and soaking my robes with his overly dramatic bawling."

This made the princess break into laughter. "Mr. Cedric!" she admonished, though the smile on her face indicated she wasn't really upset of course. "Do you have something I need to do today? I didn't get the chance to ask before with everything going on."

"As a matter of fact, I do." He stood and offered her his hand, pulling her up as well. He grabbed his Family Wand and muttered a quick spell as he pointed the wand at a fluffy purple pillow, making it levitate and fly toward Sofia, who smiled and sat on it as it lifted her toward the table as usual.

"What did I need to do?" she wondered as she saw him busily preparing something.

Cedric turned back to her and placed a cup of tea and a Fly Cake before her before sitting on the stool opposite her with his own refreshment.

Sofia blinked. "I'm confused."

"Silly girl," he told her lightheartedly. "I don't need you to do anything today except take a break and enjoy your treat. You've done rather well here lately, and you've excelled in your exams. I think you deserve a break."

She smiled gratefully and sighed. "Thank you…" She looked toward the confection before glancing back at Cedric. "Mr. Cedric?"

"Hmm?" He lifted his tea and sipped a bit before putting it down, turning his attention to her.

"I have a favor to ask… It's kind of silly and I know it probably won't make any sense, but…"

"What is it, Princess?" he asked calmly, encouraging her to go on.

The auburn-haired girl blinked and sighed, folding her hands into her lap. "Please don't leave me, okay?"

"W-What?" the sorcerer responded with a confused glance at her.

"I don't like losing people, least of all friends; and if I lost you like I've lost others before me, I don't know what I'd do."

Now why did she have to go and say something like that? Cedric rubbed his neck uncertainly. She sure was far more mature than people gave her credit for, but she still had moments of weakness like any child would. Knowing he needed to respond to her, and realizing what she needed to hear, he put his hands on the table and nodded. "I promise."

Sofia looked up at him in surprise. "Y-You do? Really? You mean that, Mr. Cedric?"

He chuckled at her reaction and made a motion with his hand over his chest. "Cross my heart." Seeing her smile brightly, he continued, "I'm not going anywhere, Sofia. You can count on that."

The princess giggled gleefully and hopped down from her pillow to move over to Cedric, hugging him happily. "Thank you."

Cedric smiled thoughtfully as he returned her hug. '_I'll always be here for you_.'

The end!

A/N: I know… I know it's emotional. Lol. I was in a quiet "mood" today I guess, and this just came pouring out of my head/fingers… Don't worry. When working on "The Ties of Friendship," things will be much more lighthearted and hilarious. This one is one of the few where it'll be just plain…sensitive and somewhat sad. BUT if you know me, and I know you do, you know there's always a rainbow at the end of each story. :) I'd make a good Disney Princess, right? Haha, just kidding. ;)

By the way, Henry—as mentioned in here—was from my story "Special Delivery" and was an original character.

Just a shout-out really quickly, since I can't contact her any other way (AHEM, hint-hint, lol):

CedricAmber: Thanks for all the reviews, girly! :) AND you have a point. I'd be really comfortable around Rapunzel too. The one I'd have the least in common with would likely be Aurora. I just don't get her. Lol. 3 See you around. ~AquaTurquoise


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